Youth Program Grows Natural Leaders

If you grew up in a city or suburban neighbourhood, chances are you were often told to turn off the TV and get outside and play. Although there is a dearth of research about the positive benefits for children and youth of exploring nature — even in the back lanes, parks and waterfronts of big cities — people grasp intuitively that outdoor activity is good for developing minds, bodies and souls. How good depends on the individual, their community and the education and encouragement they receive.

In 2011, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) initiated a youth-oriented pilot project called Get Outside B.C., aimed at building future environmental leaders. That summer, then 14-year-old Whitby, Ont., native, Jayden Rae, visited her aunt in British Columbia. Jayden heard about the Get Outside program, applied … Read the article